The Retail Doctor

06/16/2026

Who told you that you couldn't do something, but you went on to prove them wrong?

06/12/2026

Florsheim closes its last four US stores this summer. The chairman told The Bulwark, " You can't sell shoes in America for more than $300."

With respect, I did. At 19. I was a janitor in high school. Then Florsheim handed me a tape measure, a shoe horn, and a training system.

Measure the foot, never take a guy's word for his size. Bring out the shoe he asked for, plus the black version, plus a casual, four or five boxes every trip. Fit every shoe with a horn. Add the shoe trees and the leather conditioner.

And the odds and ends rack? Discontinued styles carried a multiplier. Sell one above four times cost and you doubled your commission. We hustled for those.
Five of us on that floor in the Glendale Galleria. Always busy.

I read Zig Ziglar, set a goal, and bought my first house at 21. From selling shoes.

So when I hear nobody will pay $300 for American shoes, I hear a company that stopped believing a trained human being could justify the price. The shoes didn't get too expensive. The selling disappeared.

Now the answer is wholesale racks and a website. Nobody at the chain stores is measuring your foot. Nobody is carrying out four boxes.

Retail didn't fail Florsheim. Florsheim quit retail years before the leases ran out.

Florsheim trained me how to make a customer's day. Turns out when you stop doing that, customers stop showing up.

No tariff did that.

06/10/2026

It's fawn season when mom leaves them around the Homestead while she goes to forage.

06/09/2026

5 Visual Merchandising Tactics That Lift Conversion

Visual merchandising tactics from São Paulo retailers: lighting, mirrors, shelf zoning, and color that keep shoppers longer and lift in-store conversion.

06/09/2026

06/07/2026

Share your data freely with vendors. Let them know more about your business than you do

06/06/2026

32 years ago this month I left a job that left me feeling miserable. I should have left 2 years earlier in hindsight. The good news is it brought me to all of you. A few months after, I went to a Tony Robbins event at the Universal Amphitheater. His one line stayed with me, "Craft a brand no one can do better than you." I went home and filed the trademark for the Retail Doctor the next day. Have you had a crystal clear moment in your life?

06/04/2026

My fabulous time in Kelanowa, Canada ended last night with End of the Roll’s 40th anniversary awards dinner. An amazing flooring franchise operation saying goodbye to one of their founders Urs Steinmann. I hope to return to these new friends again.

06/04/2026

For one of my “dates with Bob” that I try to do after every speech to be part of the area I speak in- not just the hotel- I chose a three hour E bike trip around Kelowna - it is an incredibly beautiful space.